National Capital Trolley Museum

by Micaela Williamson 

Take a ride back in time and visit the museum that shows how street cars helped develop our local history. For kids, there is a hands-on model street car display. Continual guided tours are offered of "Street Car Hall," which features a nice collection of different street cards from the United States and Europe.  Some are even over 100 years old.  See a gallery of the collection here.  

Visitors can also go on a narrated round-trip street car ride into the woods "as Maryland and Virginia would have looked more than 100 years ago when the first electrical street cars went out beyond Washington DC city limits."  The museum usually puts out at least two different street cars on the tracks for rides and each offer a different experience and part of history.  The round-trip ride takes about 10-15 minutes.  

This is a small scale museum but still worth a visit, especially if you take the chance to go on multiple street car rides.  There are no food or picnic facilities on site, so please plan accordingly. 

Museum Details:
National Capital Trolley Museum
1313 Bonifant Road
Colesville, MD 20905

Admission: 
$7.00 – Full Fare  (18 years to 64 years old)
 $5.00 – Reduced Fare (2 years to 17 years old and 65+)

The museum is only open on weekends in the winter and on Thursdays-Sundays during the other seasons.  Check the website for hours of operation at http://www.dctrolley.org.


Pictures by Micaela Williamson, Kid Trips Northern VA